Tuesday August 12, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: The Sound of Music

17A: Chopin song to Caesar's enemy?: ETUDE BRUTE

65A: When King David sang?: PSALM TIMES

10D: Handel's reveries? SUITE DREAMS

25D: Strauss' NYT setting?: WALTZ STREET

Oh how I struggled with the theme today! I did not know the musical meaning of SUITE, and I had no idea that Handel wrote many keyboard SUITES. "SWEET DREAMS" kept popping into my mind and I started to think that this might be a wordplay puzzle.

I wish ACT (20A: Behave) were clued as "Play part" to further enhance the musical sub-theme:

44A: Famous fair lady: ELIZA. Here is the original Broadway poster.

31D: Webber hit: CATS

53D: La __ (Milan's opera house): SCALA

I also wish POLO (35D: Equestrian game) was clued as "China explorer" to pair us with ASIA (36D: China's land). I don't believe the clue for TIED (23D: Even-steven) is the contructor's original submission. She would not have overlooked EVEN (18D: __ as we speak).

Anyway, I enjoyed this puzzle very much. It felt so feminine and pretty. Lots of girl power in the grid. And none of them is unyielding.

Across:

10A: Swedish auto: SAAB. I often wonder why this company name is SAAB AB rather than just SAAB, so repetitive.

15A: Stretch of land: TRACT. and 11D: Land measure: ACRE

22A: Show up for: ATTEND

24A: Cleansing routine: SHOWER. "Jump in the SHOWER...". Dolly Parton has such an enviable body, so sexy. I really want the rainbow, but I don't want to put up with the rain.

26A: "Dallas" matriarch: ELLIE. I lapsed into ELLEN again. I've never seen "Dallas".

30A: Secondhand ride: USED CAR

39A: Kind of queen: DRAMA

50A: Part of a poppy: STEM. I planted SEED first.

54A: Move it: HASTEN. I've never heard of "Move it". "Hightail it" yes!

58A: Rival of Athens: SPARTA. Pure guess. I don't know why SPARTA is the "Rival of Athens". Not familiar with Greek history or mythology.

69A: Actress Shire: TALIA. She is Connie in "The Godfather".

70A: Muppet with a unibrow: BERT. I don't understand this picture. What is that long stuff coming out of the peanuts jar? Looks elastic.

Down:

2D: Fire starter: MATCH

3D: Former planet: PLUTO. 冥王星 in Chinese. Literally "Star of the Underworld King". 王 means "King" in English. More than 7% of the total population in China has 王 as surname. That's about 93 million, 1/3 of the total US population?

4D: Punk rocker Vicious: SID. I don't know anything about his songs. I just love so much the "You were my little baby girl" poem he wrote to his girlfrend Nancy. So simple and sweet.

5D: J. Ringling's partner: P. T. BARNUM. Unknown to me. I pieced his name together from the across fills.

7D: Fry lightly: SAUTE. What's the difference between SAUTE and Stir-fry?

27D: Units of light: LUMENS. Another unknown. Easily gettable.

29D: Empower: ENABLE. I don't like the clue. I hate the repetition of letter (s) in both the clue and the answer. So many other ways to clue "ENABLE". The same with SLAB ( 58D: Thick slice). "Thick piece" would be just fine.

32D: Famous cookie maker: AMOS. This constructor clued AMOS as "Writer Oz"in her last puzzle. Listen, this is Melissa's favorite AMOS.

42D: One of the U.S. Virgin Islands: ST. THOMAS. Pure guess. Here is the map. Have you been there before?

45D: Plugging away: AT IT. OK, this is another phrase that bothers me. In which dictionary can you find "AT IT"?

67D: Big blue: IBM Think!

C.C.

Monday August 11, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: "Rhyme with MUCK"

18A: Leaving Las Vegas lament: ROTTEN LUCK

62A: Word in Don Rickles' insults: HOCKEY PUCK

4D: Defenseless target: SITTING DUCK

25D: FX network series: NIP TUCK

27D: Shift blame: PASS THE BUCK

Good puzzle, but I was not really aweSTRUCK by the construction, no Z or Q. I guess I should not always expect such scrabbly letters from Allan E. Parrish. But I think his rhyming themed puzzles start to bore me now.

I do like those strikeout K's in the grid, and the J & X. The puzzle feels very smooth, no forced fill or strained clue. I did not know EISEN (16A), RAL (23A), SERGEI (33A), HIS'N (70A) and MYNA (38D), but all were inferable by the crossing fills.

Across:

1A: One meaning of X: KISS. Here is Rodin's "The KISS".

9A: Dutch cheese: GOUDA. Or sometimes EDAM.

14A: Race in "The Time Machine": ELOI

16A: Rich of the "NFL Network": EISEN. His mug looks familiar to me, but I would not have got his name without the crossing fills.

20A: Organic fuel source: PEAT BOG

23A: '60s singer Donner: RAL. Again, I pieced his name together from the perps. I like this album title.

24A: Dude from Dubuque: IOWAN. Ha, I thought "Dubuque" is a city in Scotland. Here is the map. Great clue. This is the fasinating "American Gothic" from the IOWAN Grant Wood.

26A: Undulation: RIPPLE. "Undulation" reminds me of yesterday's PGA Championship. 41 down, 1 more to go Sergio!

28A: Tip over: UPEND

31A: Inventor Tesla: NIKOLA. Good to see "Tesla" as part of the clue rather than as the answer to "unit of magnetic flux density".

33A: Composer Rachmaninoff: SERGEI. Wikipedia says that Vladimir Horowitz might have gotten his "rhythmic snap from Rachmaninoff". His hands look quite small. Does anyone know the difference between SERGEI and SERGEY in Russian?

35A: Smoke conduit: PIPE STEM. Hmm, very interesting names. Must be a very satisfying experience to insert the tenon of the PIPE STEM into the mortise of the PIPE BOWL.

40A: Like wise: DITTO. That's what Sam replied to to Molly when she said "I love you" to him in "Ghost". He really loved her though.

42A: Sharp rival: SONY

43A: 2006 Steve Martin role: CLOUSEAU. Remember this picture? That's Molly Sims. She is in the upcoming "Pink Panther 2".

45A: Customer: PATRON

50A: African wild dog: JACKAL. His tail looks rather bushy. Our ex-governor Jesse Ventura ("The Body") used to call the local media as "JACKALS". He is a hard man.

53A: Deceitful one: KNAVE

56A: Middle Eastern grp.: PLO. Vs. Hamas.

58A: Coffee bean variety: ARABICA. Beautiful berries.

70A: Boondocks possessive: HIS'N. I still don't understand this one. Why add letter N?

71A: Kentucky fort: KNOX. Also President Polk's middle name.

Down:

1D: Some seaweed: KELP. Very grainy and coarse. Only good for vegetarian dashi broth. I like miso soup.

5D: "One L" writer: TUROW (Scott). He also wrote "Presumed Innocent". "One L" is a good read, short too.

6D: Work shoe: BROGAN. It appeared in our puzzle before.

9D: Non-Jewish: GENTILE. Or Non-Mormon, according to the dictionary.

11D: Stage a coup: USURP

12D: Temporary tattoo: DECAL

13D: That's just over a foot: ANKLE. I like this clue.

19D: Continental sound: EUROPOP. Here is "Believe" from Dima Bilan (Eurovision 2008 winner), for Melissa. She likes Plushenko. That violinist is Edvin Marton, the very talented Hungarian composer. He is playing his Stradivarius.

28D: Parris Island org.: USMC (United States Marine Corps). I've never heard of Parris island before. Where is the Marines HQ?

29D: Orange coat: PEEL

30D: Cube-make Rubik: ERNO. I like this Rubik scene from Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness". But why not "Happiness"?

34D: According to plan: IDEALLY

36D: One third of a WWII movie?: TORA. It's a good movie. "To" means "sudden" in Chinese too.

37D: Son of Seth: ENOS. Or "Slaughter in baseball".

38D: Talking starling: MYNA. What?

50D: Holy war: JIHAD. Those people who take part in JIHAD are called mujahideen (singular is mujahid). Wikepedia says "In Islamic scripture, the mujahid contrasts with the QAID, one who does not join the JIHAD". Dictionary explains QAID (also spelled as CAID) as "Muslim judge, tribal chief". Those constructors should probably consider this word for their next pangram.

51D: Like a bunch: ADORE. I initially misread "Like" as an prepostion.

52D: Powdered chocolate: COCOA

54D: "Catch-22" star: ARKIN (Alan). I've never seen "Catch-22". Like his role in "Little Miss Sunshine" thought.

60D: Mafia leader: CAPO. Haven't see CAPO clued as "Guita device" for a while.

61D: Writer Haley: ALEX. I truly felt the culture shock when I read his "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". Very educating though.

C.C.

Sunday August 10, 2008 Stanley B. Whitten

Theme: Avian Adventure

23A: Connected in an avian manner?: DOVETAILED

25A: Avian dance?: TURKEY TROT

109A: Avian con game?: PIGEON DROP

111A: Avian lawyer?: LEGAL EAGLE

30D: Avian architect?: CHRISTOPHER WREN

39D: Avian mimic?: PARROTFISH

44D: Avian tournament?: ROUND ROBIN

45D: Avian guardian?: SCARECROW

47D: Harassed avian style?: HENPECKED

Why "Avian mimic?" for 39D? I don't understand it.

Here are some more bonus "Avian" fills:

7D: Birds in barns: OWLS

13D: Birds' display areas: LEKS. It appeared on an April puzzle before. I simply forgot.

5D: Insect-eating birds: TITMICE

I am very curious to know if the above entries are the constructor's originals. The fact is that neither "Avian" nor "Birds" is really needed in the clues. The constructor/editor deprive the solvers a certain "Aha" moment by repetitively writing in "Avian" in every theme clue, how boring! I wonder why he CHICKENED out on Larry BIRD, which could be a perfect tie-in theme title. I thought of GOOSE Goosage earlier. He is now a HOFer and deserves some recognition in the crossword world too.

I dislike the following fills:

79A: Squeal to a halt: SKID

87A: Bad part of town: SKID ROW

107A: Pub potations: ALES

27A: Alternative to lager: ALE

And of course, the clue for I DO (46A: Wedding vow) should definitely be reworded due to VOW (89A: Pledge). Other crossword editors probably make this kind of mistake 2 or 3 times a year. For our "splicing device" (EDITOR), sky is the limit.

Overall, it's a good puzzle. Not exactly a SNAP (120A: Piece of cake) for me, but much easier than the previous Sunday's puzzles and more enjoyable. And the grid is very pretty and neat. I've never seen 2 theme entries running through in one line, separated by one block (23A & 25A, 109A & 111A).

Across:

6A: Bean paste: TOFU. Wrong clue. TOFU is bean curd. Bean paste is a completely different soybean product.

10A: Actress Oberon: MERLE. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says she was nominated for Oscar for her role in "The Dark Angel".

15A: Pers. with a handle?: CBER. I don't like the way "Pers." is abbreviated. In fact, CBER is a well accepted word, there is no need for clue abbreviation.

19A: Mites: ACARI. Singular is ACARUS. New to me.

28A: Wire thickness units: MILS

29A: Eyelike window: OCULUS. Like this one at the Pantheon (Rome).

32A: False report?: MISFIRE

37A: Tank toppers: TURRETS. Unknown to me. Look at this squirrel. I always thought of TURRETS as the top of some castles.

42A: Rock debris: SCREE. Another new word to me. It came from the old Norse word skriða (landslide). Here is a SCREE slope.

47A: Kingdom founded by St. Stephen: HUNGARY. Not familiar with St. Stephen. Pure guess. Here is Lang Lang's Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody #2.

50A: Certain grasses: REEDS. I filled in WEEDS first. Tricky clue.

56A: Addams family cousin: ITT. Learned from doing Xwords. Not familiar with this TV series.

59A: Highland tongue: ERSE. The Scottish Gaelic. Irish Gaelic is just Irish, right?

60A: Outline: CONTOUR

62A: Gather greedily: SCOOP UP. "Greedily"?

67A: Part of EKG: ELECTRO

71A: Veteran's abbr.: RET. Doesn't RET always refer to those high positioned generals?

74A: Nurse: CARE FOR. I dislike the clue due to RNS (53A: Hosp. personnel), even if N in latter is in abbreviated form.

84A: Swayed to and fro: ROCKED. I wonder who owns the original JFK's Rocking Chair now.

86A: Cay or key: ISLE. And INLET (101D: Channel opening). And AIT (113D: River island). Can also be spelled as EYOT. Strange looking word, isn't it?

92A: __ chloride (refrigerant): ETHYL. I googled this answer.

93A: Extreme poverty: PENURY

94A: Animal Planet's "___ Manor": MEERKAT. Dutch for "Lake cat", though it's not a cat. It belongs to the mongoose family. I've never heard of this animal. If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to knee (on your knees boy!).

99A: Container for a fossil fuel: COALBIN

103A: Cheap cigar: STOGY. Could also be spelled as STOGIE. I just learned this STOGY is short for Conestoga, a town in Pennsylvania.

106A: Weasel cousin: ERMINE

115A: Spartan market: AGORA. The Greek mall.

119A: Staircase support: NEWEL

Down:

6D: Linen fabric: TOILE. Hmm, too blue for my taste. That bed looks so small.

9D: One causing a downfall: UNDOER

11D:Successful mimic: EMULATOR. Knew EMULATE. Had never used EMULATOR before.

15D: Shop-at-home guide: CATALOG

17D:Berkshire college: ETON. Since 1440.

24D: Affectedly nonchalant: AIRY. Oh, has anyone read Hugo's "Les Miserables"?

33D: Feudal estate: FIEF

41D: Subside, as symptoms: LYSE. Got it from the across clues. I am not familiar with this medical term. Initially I filed in EASE. Another tricky clue.

49D: Unnamed work: OPUS. What exactly is OPUS? Why is it "unnamed"? Also, what's the difference between a orchestra and a symphony orchestra? I received no musical education when I grew up.

50D: Like Miss Congeniality: NICEST. Silly movie.

52D: Cannes water: EAU. And AGUA (107D: Spanish water).

63D: Detachable container: POD. How so? Why is it "Detachable"?

69D: Clouded by sediment: ROILY. I like the clue and the answer. I like this kind of seemingly inconsistent cluing (in terms of part of speech).

70D: Architectural projection: ORIEL. The Bay window.

82D: Dry gulch: ARROYO. Her name is ARROYO (Gloria) too, and she is the President of the Philippines.

83D: For eternity: EVERMORE. How I wanted it to be NEVERMORE! We can have one more bird related clue (The Raven).

88D: Castle cell: DUNGEON. Do you like "The Count of Monte Cristo"?

90D: Of a parent-child Freudian relationship: OEDIPAL. Oedipus complex.

100D: Horn for reveille: BUGLE

103D: Jam or pickle: SPOT. "Tough SPOT", maybe yes. But SPOT, I am not sure. I can not see any commonality between Jam/pickle & SPOT.

105D: Arch type: OGEE

110D: Bobbsey twin: NAN. Another boring clue. Have you ever had Tandoori-baked NAN before?

C.C.

Saturday August 9, 2008 Matthew Higgins

Theme: None

Total block: 27

Sigh...another Matthew Higgins, what can I say?

Annoying amount of affixes and obscure words. Maybe Mr. Higgins should give up this ambitious themeless idea and plunge into themed puzzles for some badly needed batting practice and minor league training. Amazing how he can come up with 27 blocks every Saturday.

Look at how many ER, RE, ED he employed to create this grid, not to mention those pesky S'es:

15A: Puts back: REPLACES

61A: Raised letter designer: EMBOSSER

62A: More compressed: DENSER

1D: Gave a big hand to: PRAISED

45D: Those relaxing: RESTERS

37D: Populated: PEOPLED

And the irksome RENCOUNTER (27D: Hostile contest). Have you ever heard of it before? I have not. What a desperate a 10-letter word for a desperate constructor who desperately needs RE & ER affixes.

Sloppy editing job from our editor too:

6D: Frozen fruity treats: ICES

50D: Unfreeze: DEICE

58A: Wheel-driving channel: MILLRACE. Completely unkown to me.

29D: Garden tractor brand: WHEEL HORSE. Another unknown.

I had to flirt with Mr. google a few times, and I don't think I enjoyed the experience at all.

Have to share with you this interesting piece on Matthew Higgins.

Across:

1A: Perfect maker?: PRACTICE. PRACTICE makes perfect.

9A: Chucklehead: STUPES

16A: Sword of Damocles, e.g.: THREAT. This is Richard Westall's "The Sword of Damocles", the symbol of hidden perils of power.

17A: Cause supporter: ADHERENT

18A: Speakers' platforms: ROSTRA. Singular is ROSTRUM.

20A: Bony-plated dinosaurs: STEGOSAURS. I googled this one. Could not get the letter G and O. See this picture. Why is it called STEGOSAURUS? Needs some polishing with the clue. Terrible repetition of "saurs". Can you come up with a better clue?

22A: Rope fiber: SISAL. Named for SISAL, Yucatán.

24A: Worsted fabric: SERGE. Yawner. It's time to recognize the genius in SERGE Gainsbourg. No other song is more exotic and erotic than "Je T'aime... Moi No Plus": "Je vais et je viens, entre tes reins..." What other words do you need?

25A: U.S. Medical grp.: NIH (National Institutes of Health). I would not have got this one without the down clues.

26A: Splicing device: EDITOR. New to me. I always thought EDITOR is a person.

28A: Extinct bird: MOA

30A: Expression wish: DESIRE. I DESIRE U2.

37A: Lay down asphalt: PAVE. Now we are on PAVE binge. I kind of miss ET AL now.

46A: Narrative poetry: EPOS. Epic poetry. Also new word to me.

48A: Sleekly graceful: FELINE. Dictionary has another definition for FELINE: "Sly, stealthy, or treacherous".

52A: __ the ticket!: THAT'S. I don't understand this one. Is it a slang?

53A: Fitted for grasping: PREHENSILE. New to me also. So close to COMPREHENSIBLE.

57A: Blow a gasket: LOSE IT. SEE RED is clued as "Blue a gasket" last time.

60A: Make manifest: EVINCE. No need to "Make". "Manifest" is sufficient.

63A: Wakame and kelp: SEAWEEDS. I like wakame. Kelp is too coarse for me. My favorite SEAWEED is nori. Delicious!

Down:

2D: Beach close cause: RED TIDE

3D: Especial to special, e.g.: APHESIS. I've never heard of this term before. Was it a gimme to you?

4D: Some flowering vines: CLEMATISES. CLEMATIS the "Virgin's Bower".

9D: Russian count's wish: STROGANOFF. Or STROGNOV. Vaguely heard of it before. It's named after Russian diplomat Paul Stroganov. It's "a dish of tender beef strips, mushrooms, and onions cooked in a sour-cream sauce and served with noodles or rice." Russians put sour-cream in everything.

10D: Porky's sweetheart: PETUNIA. Learned this from doing Xword. PETUNIA was always a flower to me before.

21D: Fourpence piece, once: GROAT. Ha, I wonder if Mark (Buenos Aires) knows this English silver. I had on idea.

23D: Tribal knowledge: LORE

38D: Judge favorably: APPROVE. Are you happy with the "Judge" clue?

39D: Elects: VOTES IN

43D: Dark igneous rock: DIABASE. Another unknown. Here is a picture. Amazing how those yellow flowers can survive and bloom there.

44D: Inveigled: ENTICED. I did not know the meaning of "Inveigle". I only knew "Inveigh".

51D: Slug trail: SLIME. Icky!

C.C.

Friday August 8, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Vowel Progression

17A: "Living the Bill of Rights" writer: NAT HENTOFF

25A: Outcome: NET RESULT

37A: Quibbled: NITPICKED

53A: Ain't gonna happen!: NOT ON A BET

63A: Reason to eschew cashews: NUT ALLERGY

Ha, back to the familiar cluing. I had the suspiction that yesterday's puzzle was guest-edited by someone else. Some of the clues just felt so unusual, esp MALE. Or it could be that our editor decided not to tinker too much with the constructor's initial submission, so some of the clues came to us unfiltered and with originality.

This is a rather unusual Allan E. Parrish puzzle. I cannot find any Z, or Q. Good puzzle though, there is no forced fill or strained clue. I solved the bottom part of the puzzle first. Got the theme, then moved upwards and quickly filled in all the N?T theme entry words. Did flaunder at the upper right corner. Had problem obtaining SHEL, esp the last letter, as I did not know the crossing LANGTRY.

I so look forward to a L?ST vowel movement puzzle. LAST, LEST, LIST, LOST & LUST all sound more dynamic, don't you think so? I am so curious to see how the constructor clue those vibrant words.

My labels show that this is the 17th Allan E. Parrish puzzle we've done since Jan 21, 2008. By contrast, we have been offered 29 puzzles from Alan P. Olschwang.

Across:

1A: Straddle: SPAN. I wonder why our editor dislikes getting "handy" with SPAN. Mine is about 7", how about yours?

5A: Speak in Spanish: HABLA. Several Spanish words today: ENERO (32D: January in Oaxaca). EL NINO (60A: Current phenomenon).

10A: Cartoonist Silverstein: SHEL. No idea. I like the cover of "The Giving Tree".

14A: Der __ (Adenauer): ALTE. Konrad Adenauer.

16A: Disaster relief agcy.: FEMA. This remind me of somone's cub scout indiscretion "Brownie". You did a "heck of a job" Dennis!

19A: Greenish-blue: CYAN. I can never remember how to spell this CYAN blue.

21A: Neet rival: NAIR. As I mentioned yesterday, I dislike the repetition of letter(s) in both the clue and answer. "Hair removal product" is sufficient here.

30A: "The X-Files" character: MULDER (Fox). Is he romantically involved with Scully? I've only seen a few episodes. Not my cup of tea.

31A: Alternative to "ah": I SEE. Ha, not an easy "I SEE" for me.

33A: One-named supermodel: EMME. The plus sized model. She is pretty. (Addendum: The picture was actually Velvet D'Amour. Sorry for the mistake.)

36A: Like a run-down walk-up: SEEDY. "Walk-up" is a new phrase to me.

40A: Craps number: SEVEN. This is my favorite No. SEVEN. That's Mantle's 1952 Topps rookie card, the holy grail of baseball card collecting. I've only seen one in person at a card show.

44A: Long yarn: SAGA. Good clue.

61A: Australia lake: EYRE. Lake EYRE, the lowest point in Australia. Unknown to me. I got it from the perps. I like this clue better than the stale "Bronte heroine".

65A: Kodak brand: T-MAX

69A: Hawk's home: AERIE. Interesting pose. What is he looking for?

Down:

1D: Duvall title role: SANTINI. The Great SANTINI. Is this a well-known film? I vaguely remember seeing this title somewhere before.

2D: Lamentations: PLAINTS

3D: Case handled by a lawyer?: ATTACHE. Great clue.

4D: India's first P.M.: NEHRU. In Chinese translation, "H" is pronounced. NEHRU is 尼赫魯 in Chinese characters.

5D: Fictional Brinker: HANS. Unknown to me. I only knew HANS Christian Andersen. Sweet story.

7D: Trailblazin' Dan'l: BOONE. Another unknown to me. Is there any special reason why the clue is spelled that way?

10D: U.S. Army rank: SFC (Sergeant First Class)

11D: Beatles hit: HEY JUDE. Here is the song.

13D: The Jersey Lily: LANGTRY. Foreign to me. Wikipedia says she was the mistress of the future King Edward VII for sometime. Edward once complained to her, "I've spent enough on you to build a battleship," whereupon she tartly replied, "And you've spent enough in me to float one."

25D: Maiden of myth: NYMPH

35D: Big success: ECLAT. Some of the words just sound so brilliant when you pronounce them, ELCAT, bravura, virtuosity, etc.

39D: Plunk starter?: KER. Kerplunk.

41D: Names turned into words: EPONYMS. I like how the Mae West life vest got its name.

42D: Ex-solider: VETERAN. Dislike the clue due to EXS (62D).

47D: Dry gulches: ARROYOS

49D: Largest city on Lake Huron: SARNIA. New to me. See this map.

51D: Take a trip?: FALL. Does it really need a question mark?

57D: 1983 Indy 500 winner: SNEVA (Tom). Uncompletely unknown to me. Wikipedia says he was inducted into Motorsports HOF in 2005. Nice vintage button.

62D: "All my __ Live in Texas": EX'S. OK, 2 questions: Why the apostrophe in the song? And Why not EXES?

C.C.

Thursday August 7, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: Bad Hare Day

18A: Start of a quip: A GROUP OF

23A: Part 2 of a quip: RABBITS MARCHING

38A: Part 3 of quip: BACKWARDS IS

50A: Part 4 of quip: CALLED A RECEDING

57A: End of quip: HARE LINE

Funny quip, but "OUCH", hard puzzle. I had to google. Too many entertainment names for my taste. Too concentrated. There really should be a limit on how many actor names/sports terms/operas can appear in one puzzle. I suggest a maximum of 3.

Some of today's clues are very tricky and unfamiliar to me, for example: 66A: Tony who played Wally Cleaver (DOW), Why not clue it as " __ Jones" or simply "Market indicator"? And the clue for MALE (10A: Maldives capital) is just diabolical. I wonder how many people have ever heard of this smallest Asian country, nor to mention its tiny MALE capital. The clue for I DO I DO (47D) could have been easily phrased as "Emphatic yes" or something to that effect.

Anyway, I experienced an epiphnay this morning. I suddenly realized that a puzzle is indeed made tough by the cluing, not by the employment of long & obscure words. Eureka! And I was so ELATED (70A: In high spirit) by the IRONS (47A) clue. Thank you so much for the attention, Mr. Wolf Wolfe, thank you for reading my blog. I am keenly aware that you are in sheep's clothing today, I still like EWE (60D).

Across:

1A: Horsedrawn carriage: HANSOM. Big stumper. I could only think of troika and it did not fit. HANSOM is a one-horse, two-wheeled carriage for two passengers. See this HANSOM cab.

2A: Time-line segment: ERA

14A: Take in liquid: IMBIBE

15A: Greek letter: TAU. The Greek cross.

16A: Big name in Norway: OLAF. Very nice clue.

17A: "Wall Street" co-star James: SPADER. I don't remember seeing him in "Wall Street". He is often clued as James of "Boston Legal".

20A: Whence Zeno: ELEA. Zeno of ELEA.

31A: Stewart of "Swing Shift": ALANA. I simply forgot her name. Danielle should be happy with this answer.

33A: Be much concerned: CARE A LOT

41A: Hagar's dog: SNERT. From the comic strip "Hagar the Horrible". Unknown to me. What's so fun about this one? I don't get it.

43A: Heavy winter fall: DEEP SNOW

47A: Jeremy of "Damage": IRONS. With Juliette Binoche & Miranda Richardson. Very erotic and disturbing. The movie is based on Josephine Hart's novel. So good.

55A: "The Time Machine" race: ELOI. Learned from doing Xwords. I've never read the book.

61A: Ice houses?: IGLOOS. No need for the "?".

67A: Bell tower: BELFRY. I think this is the first time I saw BELFRY clued this way.

Down:

4D: Back of a tape: SIDE B

5D: Marks on old manuscripts: OBELI. Singular is OBELUS. It's "a mark (− or ÷) used in ancient manuscripts to point out spurious, corrupt, doubtful, or superfluous words or passages". Unknown to me also. This word reminds me of "Obelisk", which has the same root as OBELUS (obelós spit, pointed pillar). Do you still remember the magical LIA Fail (Irish crowning stone)?

6D: Lip service: MERE TALK

8D: Scrap collector: RAG MAN. I don't understand this answer. Is "RAG Man" a common phrase?

9D: Goddess of dawn: AURORA. The Roman goddess. The Greek equivalent is EOS.

11D: Yodeler's peak: ALP. Refreshing clue.

13D: Studio apt. EFF. GEE next time?

21D: Equally sad: AS LOW

23D: Singer Ocasek: RIC. Unknown to me. Obtainable though. His wife is so beautiful.

25D: Gym weight: BARBELL. I've never even touched a BARBELL.

26D: Bullfighter: MATADOR

27D: Not me!: IT ISN'T I. Does the clue/answer feel OK to you?

28D: Some TV sets: GES. I hate Jeff Immelt. Under his management, GE is not GE any more. Sigh... But Pluto is not a planet any more either.

37D: Primitive Pluto: DIS. I don't understand the clue, what does "Primitive" here refer to? Indian primitive religion or what?

40D: Paint a word picture: DESCRIBE

45D: Witty one: WAG. New to me also.

47D: 1966 musical: I DO I DO. I just DON'T know.

48D: Pour down upon: RAIN ON. I don't like the "upon" in the clue.

51D: Wary: LEERY. I don't like the clue either. "Distrustful" would be perfect. I really don't like the repetition of certain letter(s) in the clue and answers, esp when it's easily avoidable.

53D: Actress Georgia: ENGEL. She was in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". A stranger to me also.

54D: Perry's secretary: DELLA (Street). No idea. I've never heard of her name before.

59D: Silver or Glass: RON. No. Pure guess. RON Howard, yes.

63D: Klondike find: ORE. Another educated guess. I don't know where Klondike is.

C.C.

Wednesday August 6, 2008 Stanley B. Whitten

Theme: Watered Down

17A: 1970 Bobby Bloom hit: MONTEGO BAY

52A: Thoreau's cabin site: WALDEN POND

11D: View from Cornell: CAYUGA LAKE

27D: Shields film: BLUE LAGOON

Out of the 4 theme answers, WALDEN POND was the only gimme for me, but the other 3 were easily obtainable.

I like this puzzle, great theme. No frustratingly ungettable words. Simple & smooth. ILLER (35A: More poorly) did raise my eyebrow a bit, but technically it's a legit word.

In the past several days, I've been pondering on how these constructors come up with certain themes. In today's case, why did this constructor pick up lakes rather than rivers (brook, creek, stream, etc)?

I still can't figure it out. But I know that all of those guys have done an exhaustive amount of work to come up with a solvable and entertaining puzzle. I wonder how long it takes them to complete a grid, hours? or Days?

Just to want to say a "Thank you" to them here. I know I can be a poor critic to their work sometimes, but I am an equal opportunity critic and I truly appreciate their effort.

Across:

10A: Gent from Aberdeen: SCOT. See this map for Aberdeen.

16A: Cover a lot of ground?: PAVE. Great clue.

21A: Show off: FLAUNT. So easy to get confused with FLOUT.

25A: Gelcap alternative: TABLET

28A: Wander about: DIVAGATE. Unknown to me. I got it from the down fills. This is a very interesting word. I wonder if any constructor has ever thought of constructing a GATE rebus puzzle, you know, with Watergate, Monicagate/Zippergate, Plamegate, Rathergate, etc.

37A: "The Three Faces of ___": EVE. I am not familiar with this film. Easily gettable though. How would you clue EVE if you were the constructor? I like "First offender?".

39A: Tightwad: PIKER. Another new word to me. I penned in MISER first. Google researched showed that PIKERS were the "1849 Gold Rush equivalents of 1930s Okies. A piker was literally someone from Pike County, Missouri. Large numbers of Pike County residents rushed to California to seek their fortunes".

40A: Olios: MELANGES

45A: Smooth, in music: LEGATO. This reminds of the TENUTO (Sustained note) we had a while ago. KittyB explained TENUTO as "similar to "LEGATO," in that the music is very smooth, and the notes connect to each other, no spaces between them. The opposite of tenuto would be "staccato," where the note is very short and articulated hard."

47A: Touched tenderly: CARESSED

56A: "The Four Seasons" star: ALDA. The answer revealed itself after I filled in the down clues. I've never seen the movie. Alan ALDA's name is so crossword friendly.

58A: Robust: HEFTY. What kind of HEFTY fish is that?

Down:

1D: Cell body: SOMA. New to me. Dictionary says it's also an "intoxicating drink of the Hindu gods". And in "Brave New World", SOMA is "the name of a state-dispensed narcotic producing euphoria and hallucination".

4D: One of eight: OCTUPLET. Another new word to me. It's built up upon TRIPLET or QUADRUPLET I suppose. Here is a picture of the famous Dionne QUINTUPLETS.

6D: Athol Fugard play, "A Lesson from ___": ALOES. Not familiar with this book. It's about apartheid in the early 1960s. Interesting book title. I know ALOES are healing. I've never thought of them as ugly though.

9D: Seasonal rhinitis: HAY FEVER

10D: Rose with a bound: SPRANG. I like the clue and the answer.

35D: Toenail, sometimes: INGROWTH. Only knew INGROW.

36D: Life on earth: LIFE SPAN

39D: Sacramental disk: PATEN. Disk?

42D: Something beyond doubt: SURETY

46D: Dresden's waterway: ELBE. Have not seen its tributary EGER for a long time. This is the ELBE watershed.

C.C.

Tuesday August 5, 2008 Verna Suit

Theme: That Is (i.e) Extra

17A: Part-time girlfriend?: SEMI SWEETIE

27A: ID a gastronome?: FINGER FOODIE

44A: Assault tour crew member?: HIT THE ROADIE

60A: Early bird warm-up wear?: ROBIN HOODIE

I've never heard of ROADIE. I like the other 3, esp FINGER FOODIE, deliciously clued.

This is a very creative theme idea. I wonder what other similar words this constructor pondered while creating her grid. If she is a real gastronomist, COOKIE & BEANIE might be in her thinking process.

Or if she is into sports, she could be be musing on ROOKIE, BOOKIE, GOALIE and BIRDIE. I also thought of COOLIE, SORTIE, STOOLIE and WEENIE (?). OKIE might not be OK.

And of course the sweet words like CUTIE, DEARIE & CHERIE.

What else can you think of?

I struggled with puzzle. Got mired in the N crossing beween ANETO and ANEMO and could not get the letter R between NORNS and SIDRA. And encountered pockets of problems here and there.

Across:

1A: "Politically incorrect" host: MAHER (Bill). A stupid "not cowardly"mistake. He is funny though.

2A: Envelop closer: CLASP. I don't like the repetition of "CL" both in the clue and in the answer.

14A: Wind: pref.: ANEMO. As in "Anemometer". ANEMO came from Greek "anemos", meaning wind. Too obscure to me.

15A: Errs on esses: LISPS

21A: Line from Mork: NANU NANU. Often see NANU clued as "Half of Mork's sign-off".

33A: Kind of metabolism: BASAL

36A: Steffi of tennis: GRAF. Amazing career wins, they are perfect together.

37A: Kid's punishment: NO TV

38A: Dilly: LULU. Here is LULU's "To SIR (49A: Galahad's title) With Love". I liked the movie.

41A: Fusses: ADOS. OK, let's talk about Shakespear's "Much ADO about Nothing" today. Is "Nothing" really "Nothing"?

42A: Riga resident: LETT

43A: Collar inserts: STAYS. What is exactly a STAY?

47A: Labor grp.: UAW (United Automobile Workers)

48A: Touch of frost: NIP. I like this clue.

52A: Relies on: TRUSTS IN

63A:Beethoven dedicatee: ELISE. "Für ELISE".

64A: Norse goddesses: NORNS. Goddesses of Fate: Here is a painting of the famous 3 NORNS: Urðr (Past Fate), Verdandi (Present Fate) & Skuld (Future Fate). I know none of them. I am not familiar with Norse mythology, or any mythology.

66A: "101 Dalmatians" author: DODIE (Smith). I got her name from the down fills. I did not know her. I like her bangs. Is the haircut suitable to her oblong face shape, Katherine?

Down:

1D: Billiard stroke: MASSE. I like "The Hustler", don't you?

2D: Pico de __ (Pyreness peak): ANETO. Really tough crossing beween ANETO & ANEEMO. Why is the guy on the left wearing shorts? It feels cold.

3D: Macho types: HE-MEN. Oh, I see, maybe this is the reason why: He wants to be a "HE-MAN". Then catches a cold/bug on the way back home and sleeps for days.

5D: Perfume ingredient: ROSE OIL

6D: French key: CLE. Or CLEF (nf). The calculator key is TOUCHE. She is wearing the "CLE de Peau" enhancer.

8D: Tec's terrier: ASTA. "The Thin Man" dog. I don't like the clue. Isn't "Tec" a shortened form of "Detective"? Or is it a widely accepted word just like "info"?

9D: Son-of sit-comes: SPIN-OFFS. I dislike this clue. It does not sound cute to me at all.

10D: Phony: PSEUDO

22D: Newborn: NEONATE. And 61D: Born in Bordeaux: NEE.

27D: Marlowe's Doctor: FAUSTUS. "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus". I've never heard of this novel or Christopher Marlowe. I only knew FAUST and the "Faustian bargain".

30D: Lady of Lisbon: DONA

35D: Assigned time: SLOT

28D: Thalia's sister: ERATO. Muse of love poetry. Thalia is the muse of "comedy and idyllic poetry". Several words have ERATO hidden in them: accelerator, generator, adulterator, exaggerators, etc. Someone ought to make a rebus puzzle out these words and credit me as his MUSE.

29D: Cane palm: RATTAN

39D: Emulated Lindbergh: FLEW SOLO

43D: Drinking straws: SIPHONS. Ha, I even had difficulty obtaining this word, mainly due to STAY & NORNS.

49D: Libyan gulf: SIDRA. This is a map for Gulf of SIDRA. Unknown to me also.

50D: One way to do crossword: IN INK. I cannot do mine without "Wite-Out".

55D: Footnote carrier: IBID

56D: Unless, in law: NISI. Add an E, we've got a word for Japanese American NISEI.

C.C.

Monday, August 4, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: Switch Positions

20A: Contradictory testimony: HE SAID SHE SAID

40A: Competitor's realistic expectation: WIN SOME LOSE SOME

57A: Interrogation ploy: GOOD COP BAD COP

Before I forget, I would like you to see this hillarious Crossword Inker (about 7 minutes), what a spoof! I also want to share with you this fascinating Oprah interview (about 10 minutes) with Will Shortz (NY Times crossword editor) and Merl Reagle (the genius crossword constructor).

OK, back to the puzzle. I was really disappointed at the clue for LEVEL (68A: Relative rank) because RANKS is the answer for 27D: Puts in order. I don't believe this is Ms. Steinberg's original clue.

Other than that, it's just an ordinary Monday puzzle, nothing to RAVE (16A: Great review) about. This exact theme has been tried several TIMES (33D: Multiplication word) in NY Times before, with the omission of theme entry ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN.

Across:

1A: Group of zealots: CULT. The CULT of iPod and Mac.

14A: Paducah's river: OHIO. Not familiar with Paducah. Wikipedia says MLB player Steve Finley grew up here and PGA golfer Kenny Perry graduated from a school just outside Paducah.

15A: "Rosemary's Baby" author: LEVIN (Ira). Have you seen the Roman Polanski/Mia Farrow movie? It does not sound appealing to me at all.

17A: Classic Chevy model: NOVA. Unknown to me.

23A: Outward pose, slangily: 'TUDE (Attitude). Also new to me.

25A: ___ on the side of caution: ERRED. I don't like this fill-the-blank clue, which should have some past tense hint.

28A: Old towel, perhaps: RAG

35A: Snooknums: DEARIE. I've never heard of "snooknums". Just learned "sweetums" a short while ago. What's root for this"nums"?

37A: Spanish couple?: DOS. In Chinese, one is "一", two is " 二", three is " 三". So simple, isn't it? Even a caveman can write them.

45A: Springsteen's birthplace?: USA. Here is his "Born in the USA". This is probably the most sought-after Time magazine with Springsteen on the cover. This issue of Newsweek (Nov 1975) is also highly collectible, tough to find one in good condition and with no musty smell.

46A: Word on a poster: WANTED

63A: Oz man: BAUM (L. Frank). He has such a creative mind. Nice Set of Ashton Drake dolls, Dorothy looks so cute. I like these Munchkins barbies too. This is a Franklin Mint's "Wicked Witch of the West" porcelain doll. Almost impossible to find one with the original Certificate of Authenticity. I almost broke her broomstick.

Down:

4D: Speakers before drinks: TOASTERS

5D: Flowing: FLUID. Not fond of the clue. I dislike the letter "F' repetion.

7D: No. 2 in rentals: AVIS. Have not seen Alamo for a long time.

22D: Hero to some: SUB. I like this clue.

25D: "The Mystery of __ Drood": EDWIN. It's not a familar Dickens book to me.

26D: Marie Antoinett, e.g.: REINE. French for queen. Spanish is REINA.

43D: Tattle-tails: SNITCHES

48D: Skeptical disciple: THOMAS. Doubting THOMAS.

66D: Stripling: LAD. This young LAD looks very pensive.

C.C.

Sunday August 3, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: Drop Me a Letter

23A: One way to look at dieting?: AS A MATTER OF FA(C)T

61A: Let them be so-so?: LAISSEZ - FAIR(E)

98A: Connected to nature?: (G)ONE WITH THE WIND

16D: PETA's position?: DOWN ON ALL F(O)URS

38D: Bribes?: GREASE MON(K)EY

51D: Kooky wish granter? (F)AIRY GODMOTHER

Great puzzle! Much more interesting than the "Exed Out" puzzle we had in June.

I like this kind of "word transformation" themed crossword - adding a letter or dropping a letter. I think I can handle changing- a- letter too. Not sure I am up to the word reversal or anagram, but I am game. Try me!

This morning I kept thinking why the constructor decided to drop C, E, G, O, K and F. Without the F, we could have had a "GECKO". I guess there is no hidden meaning behind her drops, she simply just needs those random drops for her grid. Sometimes a cigar is a just a cigar.

Structurally, this grid looks very appealing to me. I don't think I've seen an Across theme entry intersects a Down theme entry so perfectly, right in the middle and with the identical 11-letter word count. Very beautiful.

The only flaw is the clue for GOLLY (33A: Gee whiz! ). GEE WHIZ is the answer for (33D: Yipes). I can assure you that the constructor's original clue for GOLLY is not "Gee whiz".

I had some trouble with FAIRY GODMOTHER (51D: Kooky wish granter). I misread the clue as "Kooky fish granter", and I had the following silly intersecting fills:

68A: Scott Joplin's genre: RAG. I filled in RAP. Had never heard of Joplin before.

92A: Command to Fido: SIT. I had SIC.

77D: Dishes with chips: DIPS. Really struggled with this one. My final answer was RIMS, ridiculous, I know, but I filled in the M with a sound reason, as my answer for 65D: Covered with bubbles was FOAMY instead of SOAPY. I was thinking of dish plates with chips along the RIMS.

So I was staring at AIRYPORMOCHER for eons and could not make any sense of it. I still don't grok how "Kooky" and "AIRY" are connected. Kooky means eccentric, and AIRY means lofty or snobbish, how can they be synonymous?

Across:

13A: Miss Muffet's surprise: SPIDER. Ha, pure guess. Nursery rhymes stump me all the time.

19A: North star: POLARIS

22A: Gangster Al: CAPONE 50D: Writer Capote: TRUMAN. I always confuse CAPONE with CAPOTE.

25A: Frank admission: AVOWAL

31A: Winchester rival: ETON. Not familiar with Winchester college. ETON's rival is always "Harrow" to me. Wikipedia says ETON is modeled on Winchester.

32A: Wing movements: FLAPS

36A: Dancing Buttons: RED. I've never heard of him. Got his name from the down clues. For a long time I could not understand why RED is the "Dancing Buttons", so confused by the plural form "Buttons". Then I realized the B is in capital letter. Excellent clue. Who is that lady in the middle?

37A: Christie of "Don't Look Now": JULIE. I still think she should have won Oscar for "Away From Her", brilliant performance. I've never seen "Don't Look Now" before. Is it good?

38A: Cosmetic product: GELEE. Ah, irresistible lip gloss, tasty too.

43A: Byron poem: LARA. I don't know this poem. Only know LARA as "Dr. Zhivago's love", also played by the beautiful Julie Christie.

44A: Over in Ulm: UBER

49A: Put on: STAGED. Does this refer to "STAGED a play"?

53A: Pop preference: FAVE. Should have added "slangily' in the clue.

55A: Pavarotti performances: ARIAS

57A: Saw-tooth ranges: SIERRAS

59A: E-I connection: FGH. I think I like the "I follows them" clue better.

69A: Antique shop's affectation: OLDE. OK, this "Ye OLDE Shoppe" has been bothering me for a long time. What does "Ye" mean? Why "Shoppe" instead of "Shope"?

72A: Creamy dessert: MOUSSE. I want a slice of this berry MOUSSE.

73A: Deviation from the norm: ANOMALY

79A: Turning muscle: ROTATOR

82A: Prone to overacting: HAMMY

86A: ___, right in the kisser!: POW. I've never heard of this phrase before.

90A: Cardiff's country: WALES. Cardiff the capital of Wales. Here is Tom Jones, the best WALES has offered to us.

96A: Division in a group: SCHISM

102A: Person with a financial burden: LIENEE

107A: Moocher: CADGER. I would not have got HIC (101D: __ jacet) without this CADGER.

Down:

2D: Suggested: POSITED

3D: With ice cream: A LA MODE

4D: Asian noodles: RAMEN. I like udon, soba is good too. Lots of food in today's puzzle. Xchefwalt would have enjoyed it.

6D: Unit of Morse code: DIT. What's the difference between DIT and DOT? Someone mentioned last time that DOT and DASH are the codes, DIT & DAH are how those codes sound like aurally. Is that true?

12D: Accepted second best: SETTLED. Under certain circumstance, yes.

37D: Is in accord: JIBES

41D: Bandleader Xavier: CUGAT. Have difficulty committing his name into my memory.

43D: Burton of "Roots": LEVAR. I've seen "Roots", but I did not pay attention to his real name.

56D: Pitcher Koufax: SANDY. Gimme gimme. He is a HOFer. This is his 1955 Topps rookie card. Feels like PSA 8 rather than 5.

58D: Key of Beethoven's "Eroica": E FLAT. Learned from doing Xword. I've got no understanding of Beethoven's music. This is for you!

62D: Like speedy service: SAME DAY

63D: Throw out of bed: ROUST

76D: Tree colonies: FOREST. I just learned a new woody word today - sylvan.

78D: Cowboy bars: SALOONS. It indeed looks like a wonderful to eat, drink and have fun. Interesting photo above the bartender's head.

79D: Alice Kramden's hubby: RALPH. I don't know this RALPH. But I know this clue will someone very happy today.

80D: First part: OPENING. See, Sallyjane, here is another example where you do not need an *ING clue for an *ING answer.

81D: Love affair: ROMANCE. I think Oscar Wilde was wrong in saying "Nothing spoils a ROMANCE so much as a sense of humor in the woman."

82D: Bothersome situation: HASSLE

83D: Soul singer Keys: ALICIA. I like this photo, with her talent & passion in full display.

87D: "Our Town" playwright: WILDER (Thornton). I googled the book.

90D: Chess side: WHITE

95D: Fleck or Bartok: BELA. Know the composer Bartok, not Fleck.

To steal a line from Buckeye, I must be off. Make exciting comments today, and turn me on.

C.C.

Saturday, August 2, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: None

Total blocks: 30

I am sorry for the troubles many of you (mainly Internet Explorer users) went through last night accessing to the blog. The SNAFU was caused by the Site Meter, which brought down every blog/website with its tracking code. I removed it as soon as I discovered the problem earlier this morning. This was the first time I encountered such a glitch in the 6 months since I installed it.

Everything should be fine now. However, I do suggest you to download Firefox, which is much better than IE. And it allows you to do automatic spelling check when you comment. It's the best browser in my view.

OK, back to puzzle. I had a very tough round. Sliced my opening tee shot immediately. Did not know how to HOOK (1D: Peter Pan" pirate). I filled in SMEE. Then I could not see clearly where the fairways went in the next couple of holes. Too many unfamiliar names. Some of the clues were purposely made tough and I could not correctly read the breaks. Felt like I had to putt 3, or 4 times to sink that damned ball.

I was very, very flattered that Mr. Michael T. William thought I was capable of solving his puzzle.

Front Nine:

1A: Takes by force: HIJACKS

8A: Going one better than: BESTING. Are you OK with this clue?

15A: Prize presenter: AWARDER. I've never heard of "presenter" being called an "AWARDER" before.

13A: Catalog customer: ORDERER.

18A: Soprano Renata: TEBALDI. Foreign to me. Wikipedia says TEBALDI "is famous for being Maria Callas' rival and for her large, voluminous soprano that was widely admired for its tonal beauty and evenness of vocal line.

19A: Short-lived 1920s car: KESSLER. Completely unknown to me. I googled, and still could not find anything about this car.

20A: Indisposition: ILLNESS

23A: In an early stage of development: INCHOATE. Another new word to me. Only knew "incipient".

31A: Despotic: TYRANNICAL. Again, only knew "tyranny".

35A: Zest: ELAN. It reminds me of "pizazz", a word that confused me for a long long time. I never knew how to spell it correctly.

37A: Future rock: LAVA

38A: Jazz pianist Thelonious: MONK. Another unknown to me. Very strange given name. Here is his "Round About Midnight".

39A: Figwort family member: SNAPDRAGON. So delicate!

41A: Slammin' Sammy: SNEAD. Ben Hogan seems to have a more proununced hip move than SNEAD.

43A: Chatoyand gemstone: TIGER EYE. Interesting brown TIGER EYE.

44A: Sealed like flies: ZIPPERED. I did not know that "ZIPPER" is a verb also.

47A: Boris Badenov's cartoon partner: NATASHA. No idea. Pure guess.

50A: Pertinent: APROPOS

55A: Like bogeys: OVER PAR. "Below Par" is such a fascinating self-contradicting word. This puzzle has a slight golf theme. With SNEAD, TORSO (36A: Trunk of the body), HOOK (though it's clued differently) & TIGER.

56A: Ryder painting, "___ of the Sea": TOILERS. Here is the painting. I see no romance or mystic in that picture. Have never heard of Ryder before.

57A: Most in the pink?: ROSIEST. "In the pink" is a new phrase to me. The clue feels a bit strained to me.

60A: Puts to sleep: SEDATES

Back Nine:

3D: Clampett and others: JEDS

5D: Gordon Jump on "WKRP...": CARLSON. No idea. I googled the show.

6D: Short trousers: KNEE PANTS. I don't like the side slit, the color is OK.

7D: Saw-toothed edge: SERRATION. I only knew the adjective SERRATE.

8D: Hand-dyed fabric: BATIK. Another new word. Dictionary says it's also "a technique of hand-dyeing fabrics by using wax as a dye repellent to cover parts of a design, dyeing the uncovered fabric with a color or colors, and dissolving the wax in boiling water."

9D: "The Seven Year Itch": co-star Tom: EWELL. Unknow to me. I've never seen the movie. Knew this Marilyn Monroe picture though.

10D: Natural Paintbrushes: SABLES. I was in the ART direction. Why avoiding "Fine Fur", just to be politically correct? (Addendum: It's clued as "Paintbrush display" on line).

11D: Crossing the Arctic Circle: TRANSPOLAR. Another new word.

14D: Spanish cubist: GRIS (Juan). This is his "Portrait of Picasso".

22D: Repack for reshipping: RECRATE. This actually is a very accurate clue.

25D: Hart or Stephen: CRANE. Know Stephen, not Hart

26D: "The Simpsons" voice: HANK AZARIA. He was married to Helen Hunt for a short period of time.

32D: Pronounces an initial H: ASPIRATES. New term to me.

33D: Northwestern pine: LODGEPOLE. Odd red-colored pines. New to me.

42D: Scatter: DISPEL

47D: Sushi wrapping: NORI. Yes, this is the only seaweed you use to wrap sushi or rice ball.

48D: Bath's river: AVON. I've never heard of this city "Bath" before. AVON is easily inferable though.

49D: New Age pianist John: TESH. Got his name from the across clues. I think I saw his mug before. Who is that girl on his left?

52D: Partially carbonized moss: PEAT. Every clue seems to be very complicated today.

53D: Caen's river: ORNE. Learned from doing Xword of course. Have not seen ST. LO (Town near Caen) for quite some time.

C.C.